Page 27 of Summer's Seduction
Coaxing memories from blood took power, skill, and determination. Very few possessed the gift, and none were as talented as I was. I’d made sure of that.
Allowing my inner darkness out to play, I gave into my baser instincts and navigated through her blood. Offshoots of other times and other worlds flashed before my eyes, but I stayed focused, remembering not only my mission but also who I was. It was far too easy to get lost in the essence of another.
There.
“Artemis was with you in The Realm of The Living,” I stated, watching the scene before me unfold.
A beautiful woman was dancing in a tavern. Golden curls reached past her hips, eyes closed as she danced and spun to the upbeat tempo of the music. There were cheers and hollers from the crowd, everyone in sight enthralled by the merriment of the night.
But then the music changed. The harp alone remained, morphing the buzz of the crowd into a hypnotic rocking. A gustof frigid wind blew open the door, bringing a reprieve from the warm, summer night—and a thin sheen of golden dust. No, not dust, butsand.
Artemis and Camilla drew their cloaks up, covering their faces as sand and frost swirled through the small space, casting everything in a golden hue.
The dancing woman remained still, seeming to guide the others as the chilly, enchanted air enveloped her. She inhaled deeply, her chest rising, and her head tipped back as the silence stretched. Even Camilla and her mistress were still, waiting.
And then the woman grinned. All those in the tavern grinned back at her, following as she danced out the door and into the forest beyond.
“What is this?” Camilla asked, shaking out her cloak as she and Artemis gave chase.
“I don’t know,” Artemis said, her silver eyes hard as she scrutinized the men chasing the giggling woman.
I followed Camilla’s gaze, watching worry play across her face—as the woman’s laughter grew wilder.
The golden-haired woman turned, bathed in the light of the moon, and swayed her hips in a field of wildflowers to a song only she could hear. Then she began to hum. The men who’d given chase surrounded her, transfixed by the gentle rhythm her body created.
Until she stopped, and the song ended.
They pounced like ravenous wolves on a wounded hare. Artemis and Camilla launched into action, fighting through the tangled web of bodies and blood, trying to reach her.
The beautiful woman laughed as the men tore her apart, each grabbing for a piece. Ripping and tearing and taking anything they could get their hands on. Chunks of her golden curls coated the trees, the matted ends red with tuffs of her scalp still attached.
Some ran off, clutching pieces of the woman’s body to their chests as they fled with their prize. Others dropped to their knees, the ground coated in red as they held bits of bone and muscle, raising the coveted flesh to their mouths, tearing into bits of her with their teeth.
Horror consumed Camilla, her stomach turning as bile poured from her mouth. Artemis was there, her face set in cold fury as she helped her warrior to stand.
“Come,” she said, eyes seeming to memorize each soul in the clearing.
“But the woman,” Camilla protested, tightening her grip on her dagger. “We have to lay her to rest and avenge her soul.”
But Artemis only shook her head, lips pressed into a thin line. “There is nothing left to bury. But she will be avenged. This madness will end them all.”
I peered through Camilla’s eyes, feeling her revulsion spike as the men continued feasting, not realizing the woman’s body was long gone… and it was their own they were consuming.
MORPHEUS
“Well, that was fucking disgusting,” I breathed, reaching for the amber liquid to burn away the remaining wisps of Camilla’s memory. Tipping the glass back, I let it sear my throat, welcoming the bite of pain as my thoughts cleared.
“I thought so, as well.” Camilla reached for the glass her blood had been in, wrapping it in a cloth before tucking it away in her purse. Good. I was glad she took precautions when it came to her blood, regardless of how rare it was for a person to know how to use it. “Do you recognize the powder?”
Finishing off my drink, I reached for the bottle, pouring another healthy measure, before I met her gaze.
“Yes,” I said, watching as her expression remained unmoved. “But you knew that already. Or, at least, Artemis suspected.”
“Words and blades aren’t my only skills, Lord Morpheus. A woman must be clever if she is to survive in this world.”
I nodded, crossing my ankles as I leaned back against the desk. “The golden powder appears to be The Sands of Slumber.”
Camilla stiffened, her fingers twitching as if contemplating drawing her blade on me right then. Faint footsteps sounded before she could, and Megara let herself in.